Video: OUI aka Boating DUI in AZ
Start Transcript: OUI aka Boating DUI in AZ
It’s that time of year again when Arizon-ians are fleeting to the lakes of Arizona, whether it be Saguaro Lake, Lake Roosevelt, Lake Pleasant, Lake Powell. Any of the lakes here in Arizona, a lot of people tend to try to get away for the weekend.
What’s really important to remember when you are talking these weekend vacations is to ensure that if you are going to be on the boat, do not get behind the wheel with alcohol in your system. There are a number of law enforcement officials who will be patrolling the lakes of Arizona, and if they believe that you are at all under the influence, you will end up getting processed for potential DUI charges.
What are the things that the law enforcement officials will be looking at to determine whether or not you might be consuming alcohol or under the influence of alcohol while you’re on your boat? Oftentimes it can be a very simple thing like seeing individuals on the boat who have alcohol containers on them. They may look for a violation that you are committing while driving the boat, such as if you are causing waves in a no-wake zone, if individuals are on the back of the boat and they’re not supposed to be on that back part of the train of the boat. They may be looking to see whether or not underaged individuals do not have their life vest on. It could be something as simple as you have too many people on the boat.
If that they find that you are committing any type of violation, they will stop you. They will want to do a complete boat check. Then if they are alerted by anything that you do, that you might be consuming alcohol or under the influence of alcohol, you will end up coming onto the law enforcement officer’s boat and you will be run through their field sobriety test.
Now these are completely voluntary field sobriety tests. You do not have to do them. In fact, we encourage you not to do those field sobriety tests. Those field sobriety tests typically can be the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. It’s basically a very simple test using a pen or a light. They’ll ask you to follow it with your eyes. Again, you may not even know that you’re doing a test for the law enforcement officer, and it is voluntary, so the minute that the officer puts it front of your face, let them know that you would like to speak with an attorney or that you will not be doing their test for them.
If you do end up getting processed for a boating violation or for being under the influence of alcohol while boating, it’s very important that you contact an attorney right away, whether it be before they ask you to submit to a breath test, or before you submit to having your blood drawn. You have the opportunity to ask to speak with an attorney and you should take that opportunity. Boating laws are serious. They are class one misdemeanors here in the State of Arizona. That means that you could be exposed to up to six months of jail time. If you have any prior boating violations, that means that it could be more serious than that. If you have children on the boat, it’s possible that you could end up being processed for a felony boating violation.
If you have any questions about anyone of these violations, or if you’ve been pulled over for what we call an OUI in the State of Arizona, it’s operating under the influence on a boat, please feel free to give me a call. I do offer free consultations.